Let’s not hear any grumbling about how two key Charlotte music benefits wound up scheduled on the same night, or any suggestions that this must be some April Fool’s joke gone bad. And let’s keep this an irony-free zone as well, what with one benefit fundraising for a struggling local venue — the Milestone — and the other giving tribute to a soon-to-be-shuttered CBGB in New York. What’s done is done; time to make the best of it.
So your attendance, at least financially speaking, is graciously expected Saturday at both the Jumble of the Bands Milestone Fundraiser at Amos’ SouthEnd and the Third Annual Fool’s Day Brigade gig at the Visulite. According to MapQuest, 2.36 miles and a six-minute drive separates the two venues; it hardly requires a Herculean effort to make both.
Headlining the Milestone fundraiser is ex-Stooges/Violent Femmes’ member Steve MacKay and the Radon Ensemble. As a member of the Femmes, MacKay played the Milestone during its ’80s heyday when bands like R.E.M., Bad Brains, Camper Van Beethoven and Husker Du made the venue a regular stop on their southeastern tours. Opened in 1969 by maverick Bill Flowers (who still owns the building at 3400 Tuckaseegee Road), the new ownership took over day-to-day operations in October of 2004.
The fundraiser will also feature members of local acts jumbled together in ad-hoc bands performing three songs — two covers and one original — rehearsed over the last couple weeks. The jumble bands will feature members of the Situationals, the Trip Rogers Trio, Fairplay, IN-V, Hairball, Washington Lane, Sunny Ledford, Dirt Track Daredevil, High School Speeding and Jobula, as well as members of the now-defunct Horse Thief and Withstand. All bands are donating their time.
In addition, there’ll be $1 raffles all night for a batch of prizes including gift certificates from Tremont Music Hall and eateries Dish and the Penguin, as well as packages from R.E.M., Desoto Records, Polyvinyl Records, Dischord Records and Deep Elm Records. All funds raised will go toward helping the Milestone, the longest-running rock club in Charlotte, update its sound system.
“The idea behind the fundraiser is to help get some pressure off [the Milestone owners’] shoulders,” says Queen City Independent’s Brian McKinney, who’s organizing the event. “They’re having a hard time running the club, to the point that it’s hard to handle the upkeep of equipment.”
“It’s good to see musicians in Charlotte working together on a project, and it warms my heart to have so many people contribute to benefit this landmark,” club owner Neal Harper wrote via e-mail. “I believe having a unifying goal strengthens a sense of community, and what local artists experience in this production will most likely result in hippie hugs and butterfly kisses. Then again, a good musician brawl would be just as entertaining if everyone really put their hearts into it. I’m looking forward to a spectacle of either nature, or maybe a little of both.”
Tickets for the fundraiser are available at www.etix.com. McKinney is also producing a documentary on the Milestone and asks anyone with any archival footage or sound — or just some good stories — to contact him at brian@queencityindie.com.
Meanwhile, the third annual Fool’s Brigade Benefit will be hosting a tribute to CBGB, the birthplace of punk rock. Members of local acts Babyshaker, David Childers & the Modern Don Juans, Elevator Action, Snagglepuss, Lou Ford, Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers and others will be recasting songs by some of CBGB’s legendary guests. These include: Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Television, the Cramps, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Blondie and more.
“It’s almost kind of schmaltzy, what with Hillary Duff wearing CBGB t-shirts,” says event organizer Hazel. “But if there was any year that we could get away with doing all that stuff, this would be the year to do it.”
Last year’s Fool’s Brigade event, a tribute to the music of Tom Waits, gathered $2,500 for local charity. This year all funds collected will go to the Crisis Assistance Ministry, the group that helped relocated Katrina victims with shelter and food. More information is available at the agency’s Web site www.crisisassistance.org. Advance tickets for the show can be purchased at www.visulite.com.
As for the unfortunate scheduling snafu, McKinney offers a simple solution.
“I bought a ticket to the Fool’s Brigade event,” he says. “They’re both worthwhile causes, so if you’ve got $20 to your name, go ahead and buy a friggin’ ticket for both.”
The Milestone fundraiser takes place at Amos’ SouthEnd; doors at 8pm, tickets are $10 in advance and $12 day of show. The Visulite Theatre hosts the third annual Fool’s Day Brigade; doors at 9pm, tickets are $10.
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 4, 2006.
